ANANTAPUR: District Collector and Coordinator of NREGS Dasari Kadmiel has appealed to media to play an active role during the social audit of the employment guarantee scheme in villages scheduled from September 2 to 7.

Speaking at an awareness meet for mediapersons on the proposed audit here on Tuesday he said that about 1,500 social auditors and activists of non-governmental organisations, would embark on padayatras and conduct social audit of NREGS in 600 villages in 40 mandals. The exercise would not be a fault-finding mission, but problems in the implementation process would be noted. Project Directors and assistant project directors of the scheme from 13 districts, where the NREGS was being implemented, would also participate in the social audithere. On September 8, social audit findings would be read out in public meetings in mandal headquarters. Plenary session and a public meeting would be held on September 9 at Anantapur to discuss the findings. Ministers and social activists would also participate in the plenary session and public meeting.

A powerful tool

Poverty alleviation schemes implemented by spending thousands of crores of rupees by State and Central Governments during the last 60 years had not benefited the target groups much, he said. The aud

it would be a powerful tool to assess problems and help implement the scheme in the right spirit, he said.

Director of SPIU-RD Karuna said the social audit of NREGS with the active involvement of the Government would be a historic development.

An activist of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan (MKSS) Sowmya said sustained struggles over the years had helped realise Right to Information Act and National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.

Even foreign countries were keenly observing the evolution of NREGS, she said.

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